OMEGA is a Swiss luxury watch brand that is very popular in Japan. The reason why OMEGA watches are top-notch lies in three legends and four charms.
CONTENTS
- What is OMEGA?
- OMEGA, the partner of James Bond in '007' and the 'Bond Watch' that lives up to its name
- Anecdote of the Moon Landing Born of NASA's Approved Accuracy
- A total of 31 Olympic timekeepers where one-tenth of a second makes the difference between winning and losing
- What are the four main attractions of OMEGA watches?
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What is OMEGA?
OMEGA” is a luxury watch brand started in 1848 by Louis Blanc, a watchmaker, from a small workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. After the death of Louis Blanc in 1879, his two sons, Louis Paul and César, took over the company. Louis Paul and César Césaire took over the company in 1879. The company grew steadily, following in the footsteps of their father’s passion for watchmaking, and by 1880 had a large office in Bienne, a vibrant city in northwestern Switzerland.
Five years later, the brothers produced their first mass-produced movement, the “Labrador,” and in 1894 they introduced a new movement, the ” 19-line caliber,” which set new standards in watchmaking. Not only was this movement extremely accurate, but all of its parts could be easily replaced. It was also innovative in that it could be wound and set the time with a pendulum and crown, and it continues to be widely used to this day.
Did you know that OMEGA has been charismatic not only in the watch industry, but also in many other scenes, including important historical moments and movies? Here are some legendary episodes from OMEGA’s history that are not limited to the watch industry.
The Legend of OMEGA (1)OMEGA, the partner of James Bond in '007' and the 'Bond Watch' that lives up to its name
OMEGA watches are the heroes of the immortal 007 series. OMEGA watches are famously worn by James Bond, the hero of the immortal “007” series and a fashion icon. It all started with the film starring Pierce Brosnan as the fifth Bond. He wore the same outfit in all four of his films, starting with ‘ GoldenEye,’ the first film in which he played Bond, and continuing with ‘Die Another Day,’ the film in which he retired. Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemmings selected the watch worn by Bond in Goldeneye and chose an OMEGA Seamaster. At the time, she had this to say. “I was confident that Bond, a naval diver and a world-renowned, discreet gentleman, a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, would wear a blue dial Seamaster.”
Daniel Craig, who took over the Bond baton from Pierce Brosnan in his debut film ‘ Casino Royale’ to his latest, ‘No Time to Die. The watches that appeared in the films are known as “OMEGA watches”. The watches that appeared in the films are commonly known as “Bond watches” and are popular among watch lovers and movie fans alike. OMEGA’s official website has a page introducing the models worn by James Bond, so if you are interested in which models appeared in which films, please check it out.
Legend of Omega (2)Anecdote of the Moon Landing Born of NASA's Approved Accuracy
The first human landing on the moon In 1964, NASA ordered chronographs from watchmakers around the world in order to find a watch suitable for the manned space program. The only watch that passed the grueling tests was the ” Speedmaster Professional,” the fourth generation of OMEGA’s Speedmaster. Recognized as a high-performance watch that could be used in space, the Speedmaster became NASA’s official equipment, and was worn by the crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing on July 20, 1969. Since then, humans have landed on the moon six times, but only the ” Speedmaster Professional ” has been allowed to be carried on all of those missions.
The Speedmaster has been nicknamed the “Moon Watch” since the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Even today, when the mainstream of mechanical watches is self-winding, the Speedmaster Professional is the only watch in the lineup that is still hand-wound, and past models are so popular that they are sold at high prices.
What is the unexpected relationship between OMEGA and Snoopy?
Did you know that Snoopy is the mascot of NASA and is considered a lucky charm among astronauts? It all started with the Apollo 10 mission in May 1969. Apollo 10, whose mission was to perform pre-verification for the rehearsal of the lunar landing, had to ” sniff ” around the surface of the moon to determine the landing site for Apollo 11. From there, the lunar module was named Snoopy. Since then, Snoopy has been a watchdog for the safety of space missions and has been treated as a good-luck charm by the astronauts. During the Apollo 13 oxygen tank explosion in 1970, when the ship’s computers were out of control and the astronauts had to manually reverse the orbit correction by visually measuring ” 14 seconds ” accurately, the highly accurate OMEGA Speedmaster was used for the measurement. The measurement was made with a high-precision Omega Speedmaster. As a result, the orbit correction was successful and Omega received the ” Silver Snoopy Award ” for saving the astronauts.
OMEGA legends ③A total of 31 Olympic timekeepers where one-tenth of a second makes the difference between winning and losing
OMEGA became the first watchmaker to serve as timekeeper in every event at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Since then, OMEGA has constantly updated its watchmaking performance and has been the official timekeeper for a total of 31 Olympic Games, including the Paris 2024 Games, where a single tenth of a second can make the difference between victory and defeat. In 2017, OMEGA announced that the partnership will continue until 2032, the 100th year of the partnership, making OMEGA the first company to sign such a long-term contract.
Commemorative models have also been launched in the past, with the 2024 Paris In the past, commemorative models have also been released, including six models for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
What are the four main attractions of OMEGA watches?
We will look at why OMEGA watches continue to be favored by people from all walks of life and why they continue to be loved to this day, in four categories.
The appeal of OMEGA watches (1)Durability and precision thanks to an innovative escapement that significantly extends overhaul cycles
OMEGA watches are the only watches in the industry to use the Co-Axial escapement, which reduces friction in the movement and significantly extends the life of its components. The Co-Axial escapement is the only one of its kind in the industry. Currently, the mainstream in the watch industry is the ” Swiss lever escapement,” but this has the weakness that it tends to run out of oil and is inefficient. The Co-Axial escapement, however, has succeeded in reducing friction by reducing the contact surface between the escapement wheel and the ankle, a part that is constantly moving at high speed, making it difficult to run out of oil. In addition, while a general mechanical watch requires an overhaul every 3 to 5 years for lubrication, the Co-Axial escapement has less friction and is less likely to run out of oil, so it can be overhauled only once every 5 to 8 years. Incidentally, although this escapement was announced in 1999, the mechanism itself was completed in 1974. However, because of its extremely precise structure, it took 25 years to mass-produce and miniaturize it for incorporation into a watch.
The appeal of OMEGA watches (2)OMEGA's unique antimagnetic performance with overwhelmingly high protection against magnetism
OMEGA watches have a “Master Co-Axial” movement, which is even higher than the aforementioned Co-Axial movement. The difference from the normal Co-Axial is the ” anti-magnetic resistance ” that protects the watch from magnetism, which is a cause of loss of accuracy of watches. While the magnetic resistance of watches that claim to be highly resistant to magnetic fields is 1,000 gauss, the Master Co-Axial boasts 15,000 gauss, which is 15 times stronger than the standard Co-Axial. It may be difficult to understand the strength of magnetism by looking at the numbers alone, but to give an example of magnetism generated in daily life, a smartphone has 380 gauss, a laptop 1,200 gauss, and a magnet used to fasten a smartphone case or bag 1,400 gauss. And a typical MRI, a medical test that uses powerful magnetism, is 15,000 gauss. In light of these magnetic fields, it is clear that models with Master Co-Axial are resistant to magnetic fields, even if the wearer undergoes an MRI while wearing the watch (please note that the test regulations basically prohibit wearing any metal objects).
The appeal of OMEGA watches (3)
Almost all OMEGA mechanical watches are certified as “Master Chronometers. This is a test developed in conjunction with the Swiss Federal Office of Metrology and Accreditation (METAS), in which a total of eight tests are conducted over a period of more than ten days, and only those models that pass the tests of watch precision and performance in a variety of environments are awarded this title. The certification is a significant improvement over the COSC certification, which is the most commonly used test of a watch’s accuracy, and certifies that the movement is both ultra-resistant to magnetic fields and highly accurate. OMEGA offers many models equipped with the Master Chronometer. The certificate number issued for each product can be entered online to find out how the watch has performed in these eight tests.
The appeal of OMEGA watches (4)The meticulous use of materials to improve design and performance
OMEGA uses a variety of materials to improve not only design but also performance and robustness. For example, OMEGA uses its proprietary technology to process “ceramics,” which is considered difficult to process as a material for watches, and uses it for cases and bezels. In addition, the company has succeeded in further enhancing the design and durability of the material by decorating ceramic parts with 18K gold and combining them with an amorphous Alphamos alloy called Liquidmetal. OMEGA’s proprietary “Sedna Gold,” with its exquisite reddish color, is highly regarded as a gold material that does not fade easily due to the skillful blending of three materials: gold, copper, and palladium. In order to reduce the effects of magnetism, the main parts of the movement, which affect accuracy, are made of ” non-magnetic materials “.
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